A friend in Need
by wannabelabrat
Summary: N/S (Sort of) Final chapter up!!! The CSI's are good at putting the pieces together to solve cases. What happens when one of their own needs help? Will they figure it out in time? Introduces an O.C.
1. Default Chapter

Title: A Friend in Need  
  
Feedback: Please. Do I need to beg?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them. I wish I did. Or at the very least, Nick and Greg :o)  
  
Rating: G. May change.  
  
Author's note: This is my first CSI fanfiction. Hope you like! "Shannon" , you're the best friend in the UNIVERSE! Thanks for the encouragement, You better tell me what you think :o)  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey Mel," Sara Sidle called out cheerfully as she entered the locker room before the night shift.  
  
"Hi," Melody Harper replied quietly. Sara watched as the younger CSI absently pulled her hair back tightly in a messy ponytail.  
  
"What's wrong?" Sara fumbled with her combination before yanking open her locker.  
  
"Nothing, rough day," Melody barely explained before slamming her locker shut and rushing out of the locker room.  
  
"What's her problem?" Sara muttered under her breath. She slipped off her denim jacket and hung it in the locker. Though it was the middle of June, Sara liked to have a jacket handy.  
  
"Hey Sidle," Nick Stokes said as he stood in front of his locker.  
  
"Hello," Sara sighed, "Hey, Nick?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"How well do you know Mel?" Sara sat on the bench near the lockers.  
  
"Well enough to know she hates being called that," Nick grinned.  
  
"I'm serious! She's been working with us for two months, and I don't even know her last name!"  
  
"Harper. Even I know that!" he grinned playfully. It wasn't often that he knew something she didn't and he was savoring every minute of it. Plus, he just liked her frustrated expression.  
  
"Nick," Sara whined, "You're not helping."  
  
"I don't know a lot. She's really secretive, but her name's Melody Harper, she's 28 and a level two CSI. She transferred from Spokane, Washington." Nick sat next to Sara, "Oh. And she used to be a gymnast."  
  
"How do you know that?" she asked accusingly.  
  
"Jealous?" Nick teased. When he received her Sara Sidle trademark icy glare, he chuckled, "I heard her telling Catherine."  
  
"She's just- I don't know."  
  
"She's just shy. I've been too busy to make friends. She's probably just intimidated by us. I think you'd like her."  
  
"Maybe. Let's go." Sara stood up and grabbed Nick's hand. They left the locker room hand in hand. 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: A Friend in need  
  
Rating: G  
  
Disclaimers: Still don't own 'em. Still wish I did!  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all who reviewed. It's giving me lots of encouragement, which I need if I'm going to finish this!!! Sorry about not having indentations where they should go, it's my biggest pet peeve, but my computer is being STUPID! :o) Oh, and if you see anything that needs fixing (accuracy or otherwise) please bring it to my attention! Constructive criticism is a writer's best friend!!  
  
* * *  
  
"New assignments today!" Gil Grissom announced once everyone was sitting around a table. "Catherine, you and Warrick have a D.B. at Silver Bells Wedding Chapel."  
  
"Yay," Warrick said without enthusiasm. "I'll get the Tahoe." Warrick and Catherine stood up to leave. Catherine went to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water and tossed it to Warrick before grabbing one for herself and following him to the state-issued SUV.  
  
"Nick, you have a robbery," Grissom handed him a piece of paper with all the pertinent information on it.  
  
"Piece of cake. I'll be back in an hour," he grinned as he stood up.  
  
"I hope not. If you do, I'll send you back to collect all the evidence you missed."  
  
"Yeah," Nick rolled his eyes, grabbed his kit and left.  
  
"That leaves you two with this homicide," Grissom gave them the paper and turned to leave, "The autopsy's at midnight. David's meeting you there before he brings it back."  
  
"Fun," Sara muttered with her usual sarcasm. She skimmed the paper for details and handed it to Melody. "Let's go." She sighed, not knowing whether she wanted to spend quality time with the younger CSI. Melody followed her quietly to the remaining Tahoe.  
  
"Sara, I'm sorry I was kinda rude earlier. I just had a bad day," Melody yawned.  
  
"Didn't get much sleep?" Sara asked.  
  
"No, my boyfriend doesn't like the fact that I work nights, so I get to put up with his crap all day."  
  
Sara nodded sympathetically. She's had her fair share of crappy boyfriends, though luckily, she'd never lived with any of them, "You have a boyfriend?"  
  
"Yeah," she replied, not divulging more information. Sara parked the Tahoe and double-checked the address. "Let's get to work." The two CSI's hurried up to the door and showed their ID's to the uniformed police officer standing guard.  
  
"Brass is in there now with the husband. Dave Martin. Claims he came home from work and found her dead, in their bed."  
  
"Like I've never heard that excuse," Melody murmured with a disbelieving tone, "Thanks." He nodded and allowed them access to the house. They found Brass and the husband in the living room.  
  
"I swear! I came home from playing poker with the guys. It's a weekly gig, ask any of them-" Sara cut him off.  
  
"I thought you had just gotten back from work."  
  
He sighed, "Look, That's what I tell her, she doesn't like that I play poker so often, so all she knows is every Friday, I stay late to tie up loose ends and make sure everything's ready for Monday. I got home, later than usual, so it didn't surprise me to find the house quiet. I went upstairs and there she was. I didn't move her."  
  
"Yeah, okay," Brass shook his head and sighed, "If you remember anything else, let us know." He turned to the CSI's, "Sidle, Harper, get to work. Body's upstairs, first bedroom on the left." The girls made their way up the stairs and made a little small talk with David before he was able to transport the body to the morgue. So far, he hadn't found anything. He just wanted them to be able to see the body and get a few pictures before he transported the body.  
  
"Check here for evidence. There's gotta be something. Maybe she was cheating on him and. Oh, I don't know. Grissom hates hunches." Sara went into the bathroom to look for something.  
  
"Sara, if that's the case, we have a lot of new suspects."  
  
"How many?" Sara paused in the door way to the bedroom.  
  
"15-20. And that's on the low side," Melody began collecting samples for Greg.  
  
"So either she doesn't change sheets often, or he's gone a lot more than one day a week." Sara suggested they split up to find any evidence. The two worked silently in separate parts of the house until Sara joined Melody, still in the master bedroom.  
  
"We better go back for the autopsy."  
  
"'Kay. Just a sec," Melody finished dusting and collecting a print off of the remote control. "Let's go." They went back to the Tahoe and raced to the morgue.  
  
* * *  
  
Please review. Sorry about the sudden ending! Let me know what you think so far. 


	3. Chapter 3

Sara sighed and popped open a can of Pepsi, "Okay, so our vic. had a large amount of aspirin in her system. But was that the cause of death or a cover-up?"  
  
"I don't know, I suppose that's our next order of business."  
  
"Robbins said he didn't see anything else that could have been the cause, but he's still looking. Even so, did she commit suicide or did someone help?" Sara asked as Nick walked in.  
  
"I dunno, what do you think?" he asked Melody.  
  
"Do you even know what we are talking about?" Melody asked him.  
  
"I have no clue!" he admitted as he grabbed his lunch from the fridge.  
  
"How's that robbery?" Melody wondered grabbing a French Onion flavored Sun chip from Sara's bag.  
  
"Not good," he admitted.  
  
"Oh, really? Not as easy as you thought?"  
  
"There's no evidence, I looked everywhere, at least once!"  
  
"Did you get a list of old employees?" Melody asked.  
  
"Huh? Oh, no. I forgot."  
  
"Duh! That's the first place you should have look-" Melody was cut off by the loud ringing of her phone, "Excuse me." She stood up and walked to the far corner of the room.  
  
"What song is that?" Nick asked.  
  
"Conga, I think," Sara replied before pouting, "My phone won't let you download rings."  
  
"Oh, too bad," he muttered sarcastically, "I can't believe I didn't get a list of disgruntled employees."  
  
"Yeah well, that's why she's earning the medium-sized bucks!" Sara laughed as she watched Melody.  
  
"How did you get this number?" She asked loudly. "Damn." she hung up the phone and turned it off.  
  
"What was that all about?" Nick asked, concerned.  
  
"Telemarketer," she mumbled before throwing the rest of her lunch away.  
  
"What's wrong, you've hardly eaten. You're going to need your strength. I have a feeling we're pulling a double today," Nick complained, "That's all we ever do around here!"  
  
"It's not like you have a life!" Sara countered.  
  
"It's because-" Melody cut them off.  
  
"I'm assuming you two are dating," she said, "You are having too much fun to be single!"  
  
"Yeah, sort of. When we get a chance to date," Nick said as Grissom walked into the room.  
  
"Hey, Nick."  
  
"Oh, hey Gris, what's up?"  
  
"How's that case?"  
  
"Fine. Why?" he wondered.  
  
"I need you to pull a double tonight. Try to solve it. I have another case for you."  
  
"See what I told you? Grissom's a slave driver!" he complained.  
  
"I heard that," Grissom popped his head back into the break room.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. You hear everything!" he complained again. Grissom gave him a look before going back to his office.  
  
"Not exactly," he muttered.  
  
"Sara!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"The house! Now! I have a hunch," Melody explained. Sara grabbed her car keys and followed Melody to the SUV. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own them. Or the CSI computer game, which I'm 'borrowing' quotes from.  
  
A/N: Sorry it's been so long. But I'm lazy! My muses have gone on strike! Plus, I'm not getting (many) reviews; it's discouraging. Thanks to Missy Jane for the reviews. It looks like she's the only one who cares about me and my story. *sniff* Hehe. I'm a Drama Queen :o) And thanks to "Shannon" for reading and editing my story!!!! You're the best!  
  
* * *  
  
"So, Mel, I hear you're the hero of the lab," Greg said with a smile as Sara and Melody walked into the break room, late into the shift. "How did you do it?"  
  
"Well, it was pretty obvious that he didn't do it," Melody said, grabbing some water from the fridge. She shrugged, "I had a hunch."  
  
"Don't tell Grissom. He hates hunches," Greg said.  
  
Sara smirked, "Know what else Grissom hates?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Slow lab work. Stop flirting and get to work!" She finished, "Come on, Mel. We gotta talk to Grissom," Sara said. She left the break room leaving Greg looking like a wounded puppy.  
  
"Sara! You're so mean to him!" Melody protested as she followed Sara to Grissom's office.  
  
"He's young, he'll get over it. Before lunchtime, he'll be back bugging us again!" Sara promised.  
  
"Maybe, but still." Sara pushed open the door to Grissom's office.  
  
"Nice of you to knock," he said sarcastically.  
  
"I didn't, " Sara said. "Mel solved our case. It wasn't a murder."  
  
"Really?" Grissom removed his glasses and looked at them expectantly, "Just yesterday, you were ready to lock the husband up," He remindedSara.  
  
"I was wron- This isn't the point," Sara said interrupting herself, "It wasn't a murder."  
  
"She killed herself." Melody held up the almost empty bottle of aspirin, still in a plastic bag.  
  
"There weren't any signs of an O.D." Grissom pointed out, "All the evidence you two found pointed to the husband."  
  
"That's because the he found her first. He knew that with his record of abuse, he'd be a suspect. He cleaned it up before he called us, assuming if we didn't find the evidence, we couldn't come after him. He didn't realize that by tampering with the evidence, he made it look more like a murder."  
  
Grissom pondered that for a minute before smiling, "Good work, Girls."  
  
"Thank you," Melody said.  
  
"Sara, I want you to meet Nick at his crime scene."  
  
"He still hasn't solved it?" Sara asked.  
  
"No. Here's the address." Grissom handed her a piece of paper, "And shut the door on your way out."  
  
"Alright, See you later." Sara said as she left.  
  
"What about me?" Melody asked with a smile.  
  
"We need to talk." Grissom said closing his laptop. 


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks to Missy Jane for pointing out I had the block on so I couldn't accept anon. reviews. I fixed it, (I think.) Please let me know what you think about it so far, this idea is different from my original idea for the story, and I want to know your opinions!!!  
  
* * *  
  
Grissom watched Melody for a minute before continuing. She looked jumpy, like a child about to get a lecture from her father. That's the way Grissom felt about her-and his other CSI's- like a father. He knew he was a bit overprotective sometimes, but after what happened to Holly, it was better safe than sorry.  
  
"Your old supervisor called," Grissom began. Melody looked up. Grissom couldn't tell if she was worried or just surprised.  
  
"How much did he tell you?"  
  
"He told me you were a wonderful CSI and a great person. He said that he, along with your colleagues, miss you very much and he said that we were very lucky to have you here."  
  
"Oh, well then, I'm going to take my lunch break now," Melody stood up.  
  
"However, upon more prodding, he told me that about a month before you quit, you took a leave of absence for a week. When you got back, you worked non-stop on a case, for two weeks. Didn't eat, didn't sleep. Once you solved the case and it went to trial, successfully, I might add, you filed a TRO against someone named, Justin Henderson. About a week after that, you quit. Didn't tell anyone where you were going or why." Grissom looked at her, innocent, yet concerned.  
  
"Oh, is that all? What about the physical and sexual assault? Wanna hear about that too?" Melody asked bitterly. Grissom was surprised how quickly she dropped her 'tough-guy' façade.  
  
"No, he didn't tell me about that. Do you want to?" Grissom prompted. Melody shook her head, "Okay, here's the deal. You don't have to tell me everything. But I'm thinking something spooked you. You had a good career, with a lot of potential. You had a lot of things going for you there. There's no way you would just disappear.  
  
"You guys are like, the best crime lab in the country. What criminalist wouldn't want to work for you?" Melody asked.  
  
"Nope. Try again." Grissom smiled, though he didn't want to encourage her.  
  
"I wanted to experience the- um, magnificence of Vegas nightlife?" she tried, flustered.  
  
Grissom shook his head, "Third time's a charm."  
  
"There was a loop hole. The bastard I put away was going to get out. I figured it would be easier to get away from him before he got out of jail."  
  
"See, what did I tell you? Now, does he know where you are? Has he contacted you at all?" Grissom wondered. He couldn't force her to quit, but he couldn't have her putting his CSI's in danger.  
  
"Yeah. I got a call on my cell the other day. It's not even registered to me."  
  
"Okay. I," Grissom thought for a minute, "I don't know what to do."  
  
"Am I fired?" Melody asked.  
  
"No, I wouldn't do that to you. But I can't have you putting my other CSI's in danger."  
  
Melody smiled, "I wouldn't do that to you. I'd quit first."  
  
"Okay, you go on a lunch break, 45 minutes, then you and I have a crime scene to go to."  
  
"Sounds good," Melody smiled and left Grissom's office. 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I still don't own them. I still wish I did!  
  
Rating: Um, PG, just to be on the safe side! (There's a few naughty words!)  
  
A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've been lazy. My brain is rotting this summer, spending my time in front of the game boy and Home Improvement re-runs. But CSI counts as educational programming, right?  
  
* * *  
  
"Well, I see your Twinkie and raise it a Ding Dong," Melody smirked. Nick, who was walking in to the break room stopped suddenly, causing Sara to bump into him.  
  
"That sounded extremely dirty. Can I join?" Nick asked, semi- jokingly.  
  
"You wish!" Greg laughed; glad that for once, he had something Nick wanted. He was sure that by the end of the week, they'd be dating.  
  
"Come on, I 'm meeting Warrick in 20 minutes!" Melody whined. She watched as Greg threw the silver-wrapped snack-cake in the middle of the table, "What do you have?"  
  
Greg looked cocky as he laid down his cards. "King, Queen, Jack, Ten, nine," he narrated, knowing only one possible hand could beat his.  
  
"Impressive," Melody admitted as Warrick stood next to the table between them.  
  
"Man, I hope you have one hell of a hand," Warrick said, trying to peer at her cards. Melody shrugged.  
  
"Alright!" Greg announced cheerfully. He threw his arms out and stood up, "I'm king of the lab!" Everyone laughed at his 'Titanic' impression, though they all knew he could have done better than Leo in the role.  
  
"Well, Greg. In your honor, A royal flush," Melody laid her cards down and Greg stared at the cards; Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten, each with a perfect heart in the corner.  
  
"But-" Greg began.  
  
"Hey, Mel, you can come to the casino with me anytime!" Warrick said, congratulating her on the victory. "Greg cheats," Warrick pointed out, "Or tries to."  
  
"Thanks, but I don't gamble. For money anyway," Melody grinned as she looked at the pile of junk food in the center of the table. "Anyone hungry?" She allowed Nick, Sara, and Warrick to pick what they wanted before she grabbed the left over food and dumped it on the counter.  
  
"I wouldn't leave it there, you'd never get any of it!" Sara said.  
  
"It's okay. I don't eat much of that junk anyway."  
  
"How could you resist a Twinkie?" Sara asked as Catherine walked into the room.  
  
"It's not hard, I-" Melody cursed quietly as her cell phone rang, "Harper." The other CSI's watched her curiously, as she listened to the mysterious call. She turned away quickly, "Listen, you sorry son of a- " she stopped and listened again. "Stop calling me! I don't want- damn! He hung up!" she sighed, "Know of anyone who can trace a call?" Melody asked, suddenly turning around.  
  
"Not unless you are still on the phone," Greg said, pointing out the obvious, as usual.  
  
"Yeah, I thought I'd try." she shrugged.  
  
"Who was it?" Warrick asked. Catherine smiled. Warrick was like a big brother to everyone.  
  
"Oh, just a prank call," she replied a little absently as the phone rang again. She sighed, as she answered the phone, "What now?" She listened for a minute before hanging up. Nick, along with everyone else noticed she was shaking slightly.  
  
"Have you changed your number?" Warrick wondered. "This sounds like more than a prank call," he said what everyone else was thinking.  
  
"No, it's fine," Melody assured him as the phone rang once more.  
  
"Give it to me."  
  
"What? No, Warrick, it's fine."  
  
"Give me the phone." Melody handed the phone to Warrick.  
  
"Listen, you Son of a Bitch. Stop calling, or I'll have this call traced, and your ass will be thrown in jail so fast you won't know what-" he stopped, "Oh, sorry. Just a second," he handed the phone back to Melody, "It's you dad."  
  
"Daddy!" Melody covered up the phone, since everyone was still laughing at Warrick's attempt to help. When the laughing died down, she started talking "Sorry, Daddy. That was Warrick.No, I work with him. I was getting some prank calls, and he was going to help. I will, but that's not why I needed to talk to you. No, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Jason had to go out of town, and so we won't be able to come to your house for dinner. He won't be back for two weeks." She listened for a minute, "Okay, Daddy. I will. Bye, Daddy. I love you, too!" She smiled as she hung up the phone.  
  
"Man, he's wrapped," Nick said, "And I thought my sister had Dad wrapped around her finger."  
  
"Well, I'm the baby of the family, and the only girl. I've been his little princess since I was born. It comes with the Territory."  
  
"So, who's Jason?" Warrick queried.  
  
"My boyfriend. And wasn't I supposed to meet you at the scene?" she asked. Greg's happy expression faded at the mention of Melody having a boyfriend, but Sara was the only one to notice.  
  
"Yeah, but I got tired of waiting for you. Are you ready?"  
  
"Sure, let's go," Melody grabbed her stuff and followed Warrick.  
  
"I wonder what that call was about," Nick said.  
  
"We'll find out." Catherine told him, "We always do."  
  
"She has a boyfriend?" Greg asked.  
  
"Sorry, Greggo. We'll go hunting for another available chick for you later." Nick said. He patted Greg on the back. "I'll see you tonight, Sara." He kissed her softly and whispered, "I'll bring the whipped cream for dessert."  
  
"Sounds good. Bye." Sara looked up and realized Catherine and Greg were looking at her with smiles on their faces. "What?"  
  
"Whipped cream?" Greg asked.  
  
"What about it? I bought strawberries and made Angel Food Cake yesterday," she protested, finally realizing what Greg and Catherine thought they were up to.  
  
"Really? Sounds kinky," Greg said.  
  
"I'm serious!" Sara said blushing. She didn't blush often, but when she did, she didn't like it. It made her emotions too obvious.  
  
"So am I!"  
  
"Greg, you're acting like a hormonal teenager! Just forget it!" Sara ordered as Catherine followed her out of the break room.  
  
"Sara?"  
  
"What?" Sara looked up at the older CSI.  
  
"What are you two really going to do with the Whipped Cream?"  
  
Sara smirked mischievously, "That's for me to know and you not to know."  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: Sorry this chapter was so boring, but you found out some interesting things about Melody that are important to the story later!!! Please review! 


	7. Chapter 7

Rating: Still PG for 2 naughty words.  
  
A/N: Sorry, I'm so lazy. Here's the next chapter. Thanks to Shannon for fixing my errors!!!!!!!! * * *  
  
Melody groaned as she sat up and leaned against the cold metal of the bathroom stall, waiting for the nausea to subside. After a minute she felt well enough the stand up slowly. "This puking thing is getting really old, really fast," she muttered to herself. She heard somebody snickering quietly on the other side of the light blue door. "What in the hell?" She yanked open the door and saw Catherine, with a small smirk on her face. "Is something amusing?" Melody snapped.  
  
"Not at all," Catherine said. She watched Melody walk to the sink and splash her ashen face with a little cold water. When she finished, Catherine handed her a paper towel to dry her face and hands.  
  
"Thanks," Melody mumbled. She threw the paper in the trash and walked to the door, still aware that Catherine was watching her.  
  
"How far along are you?" Catherine asked finally, stopping Melody in her tracks.  
  
"What?" she turned around, feigning ignorance.  
  
"How far along are you?" Catherine repeated the question, slower.  
  
"Um, I- That's- I'm not pregnant," she stammered.  
  
"Uh-huh," Catherine gave her a knowing glance, "That's what they all say."  
  
"Really, I'm not," she assured Catherine.  
  
"Melody, I get paid to observe people for a reason," Catherine pointed out, "We all do."  
  
"Good for you."  
  
"Well, you might want to tell someone what's going on, because Sara thinks you're bulimic," Catherine said with a tiny smile.  
  
"Maybe I am," Melody said, "Can we just drop it? And why would Sara think that?"  
  
"She said that the two of you have been hanging out a lot lately. Movies, shopping and stuff. I never thought I'd hear that, by the way," Catherine smiled.  
  
"You know, you guys are just too nosy for your own good," Melody pointed out.  
  
"You should be worried if we're not, you know, being criminalists and all," Catherine said. "Are you going to answer my question?"  
  
"Um, about 4 months," she muttered.  
  
"Oh, so right before you moved to Vegas?" Catherine asked.  
  
"Yeah. And I haven't told Jason yet, so if we could just keep this on the D.L. I'd really appreciate it."  
  
"I'm not Greg, I can keep a secret longer that 5 seconds. Is Jason the father?" Catherine asked, curiosity getting the better of her.  
  
"I- um, I don't kno- no, he's not, which is why I haven't told him yet. I've known for a month or so."  
  
"Wanna tell me who is? Old boyfriend?" Catherine, like Greg, loved gossip. The only difference being that she could keep it a secret.  
  
"I don't know," she admitted, shaking her head. Melody sighed, staring at the floor tiles, a distant look on her face. She noticed Melody was trying not to cry.  
  
"Honey, it's going to be okay." Catherine gave Melody a hug, "I-m sure that Jason-"  
  
"No, it's not that, I just- I'm gonna go get some water and sit down for a minute."  
  
"Why don't you go on home. Get some rest," Catherine suggested, " I'll make up something to tell Grissom, okay?"  
  
Melody just nodded, "Thanks, Cath."  
  
"No problem, that's what friends are for," Catherine said. "Sure you're okay?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Melody turned and left the bathroom. After a quick stop by her locker, she made her way to her SUV without being seen by anyone. She threw her purse on the seat next to her and started the drive to her house, just on the outskirts of Vegas. She turned on the radio, trying to drown out her thoughts. She smiled as "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" by Good Charlotte came on. It was one of her favorite songs.  
  
She let her thoughts drift and began thinking of Greg. He was so sweet. And he was so funny. Though no one else did, Melody still thought his crazy antics were hilarious. Especially when presenting evidence he had just ran through CODIS or AFIS. And his omniscient grin was adorable. If she weren't dating Jason, she'd definitely be calling Greg every night.  
  
Her thoughts drifted for a few more minutes before a loud honk interrupted her thoughts. She looked around and realized she was almost driving on the yellow line between the two lanes. She shook her head and turned down the radio, hoping her thoughts didn't gang up on her again. "Crap!" she muttered. She had managed to make it halfway home without any stops, but she was coming up on the scene of a bad car accident, "Thank God I'm not still at work," she muttered. Car accidents were the worst scenes to process, other than suicides.  
  
Melody put her foot on the brake and heard a snapping sound. "What the-?" she glanced at the speedometer and realized the SUV wasn't slowing down. "Fuck," she yelled. She switched into the right lane, cutting off the car behind her. He swerved and flipped her off as he drove past. She took a deep breath and tried not to panic, hitting the button to turn on her emergency flashers before shifting the vehicle into neutral, hoping that would slow the car down enough she could put it in park.  
  
"Thank God!" she exclaimed, relieved when she saw an almost deserted parking lot for the local grocery store. The almost empty parking lot would obviously be safer than the road. She glanced at the speedometer again. Unfortunately, downtown Vegas was mostly flat, so the car hadn't slowed down much; she was still going almost 30 mph at the entrance to the lot. Melody shook her head and hoped for the best as she whipped the car into the parking lot. She noticed the odd looks from the people coming out of Starbucks, but chose to ignore them. Melody tried the brake again and cursed when it didn't work. She looked down at the emergency brake. She had never used it, except when parking on a hill, and didn't think it would serve the purpose she needed it to. Melody gave it a yank and cussed when it didn't work. It had been sticking since Jason had gotten into the accident a few months before. He still hadn't gotten it fixed when he had said he would. From now on, she would be taking the car to the shop.  
  
"Damn!" Melody looked up and realized she was heading straight for the Starbucks. She braced herself for the impact as her SUV crashed through the window. 


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. A Bloom: Sorry, not even close, although not a bad idea. Actually, that was how the original plot was, but Like I said in the notes for a previous chapter, I decided to try something different, because all the stories I write are about abuse. Speaking of which, my next story is going to be a Lindsey based fic. It takes place in the future, when she's 17 or so. Is anyone interested??? *****  
  
"Brown," Warrick answered his cell, sounding only slightly bored. Catherine and Nick stopped processing the scene and glanced at each other. Grissom was at his own scene, and didn't have a reason to call. Melody, Doc. Robbins, and Brass were the only other people who would have a reason to call.  
  
"Where is Melody?" Nick asked Catherine.  
  
"I don't know. She said she didn't feel well, so."  
  
"And Grissom let her leave? I'll have to try that one more often!" he joked.  
  
"If you want the time off, just have Sara work for you. Oh, did you two come in together today?"  
  
"Yeah, my car broke down and so."  
  
"That is the lamest excuse for spending the night at someone's house. And believe me, I have heard every excuse."  
  
"Okay, Mel. I can't understand you. Stop crying," Warrick paused for a second, "Okay. What's wrong?" He paused. Nick and Catherine crowded around him to attempt to heat the rest of their conversation.  
  
"The Starbucks at Fifth and Mead," Melody spoke slowly and tried to keep her voice calm.  
  
"Okay, what happened?" Warrick asked.  
  
"I was in a little car accident," Melody said.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked finally.  
  
"Yeah. I'm fine, just a few cuts and contusions. Nothing serious."  
  
"Okay, we'll be right there."  
  
Melody sighed, "Bring Catherine. I, uh, I think there's something wrong with the brakes. The cops won't let me look. I don't have my I.D. and they don't believe I'm a CSI, and trained to look for this sort of thing." They heard her emphasize certain words and knew the cops couldn't be far away.  
  
"Okay, we'll be there in ten. Keep an eye on your car."  
  
"That won't be a problem, it's in here with me."  
  
"In the Starbucks?" Nick and Catherine asked as he hung up the phone.  
"Hey, guys. There's nothing upstairs," Sara said, coming down the stairs.  
  
"We didn't find anything here, either," Catherine said as she packed up her stuff.  
  
"No, I mean there's nothing upstairs. No furniture, clothes, toilet paper. Nothing. Where are you going?"  
  
"Somewhere. You and Nick keep processing and we'll be back later." Catherine shot Nick and Warrick a 'keep your mouth shut' look.  
  
"Okay. Wanna tell me what's going on?"  
  
"We'll be back," Catherine repeated as she left followed by Warrick.  
  
"Nick," Sara walked over to him, "That doesn't sound good."  
  
"It'll be okay." He kissed the top of her head, "I'm going to check the attic. You get the basement."  
  
Sara grinned, "You always have to be on top, don't you?"  
  
"Yep. But maybe later we can switch."  
  
"You mean it?"  
  
"Have I ever lied to you?"  
  
"No comment," Sara grabbed her kit and headed down stairs.  
  
***At Starbucks***  
  
"Hey! That hurt!" Warrick and Catherine hurried to the ambulance. Melody was sitting in the back, while a familiar EMT was bandaging her cuts.  
  
"You okay?" Catherine asked setting down her kit.  
  
"She'll be fine. "  
  
"Stay out of this. I asked her," Catherine snapped, "Where's the car?" Melody pointed and Warrick hurried over to it.  
  
"Okay. When you're done, we'll take you down to HQ and get your story. We'll call a tow truck and Warrick can inspect it there."  
  
"No need to. The brake lines were cut. However, they were incised just enough that - he didn't cut all the way through. It didn't snap until you hit the brakes. Makes it a little harder to prove," he sighed, "Who would want to kill you?"  
  
"Let's go back to HQ before we get her story." Catherine grabbed her kit and began making her way to the Tahoe.  
  
"I think she should go to the hospital. Just to make sure everything's okay."  
  
"No one asked you, Hank," Warrick pointed out before following Catherine.  
  
"Wait. Hank? Sara's Hank? Son of a bi-"  
  
"Melody?"  
  
"Coming," Melody hopped out of the ambulance and followed Warrick and Catherine to the car. 


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I don't really know if there's a couch in the break room, but we can pretend, right? Thanx for the reviews.  
  
Rating: PG for adult subjects.  
  
* * *  
  
"Okay, now. Who would want to kill you?" Warrick asked as soon as they were seated in the break room. Melody sighed and tucked her feet under her. She leaned against the arm of the couch. She took a small sip of coffee before beginning.  
  
"I started dating this guy in college. Real nice guy. He did drugs on occasion. Mainly on weekends. I didn't think about it too much. I never did it with him, so. Anyway. We moved in together after college, and I realized that he had a serious drug problem. He was dealing drugs and he'd hide them around the house, because he knew if I found them, I'd throw them out. Once a week or so, he'd have his buddies over and they'd get high and watch porn," she paused as Catherine smirked.  
  
"That brings back memories. My that was my ex-husband's favorite hobby."  
  
"I'm sure it was. They all seemed to enjoy it. Anyway. I was sick of it and so I was complaining at work to some fellow CSI's and they decided we should have a girl's night out. We went out and had a blast-"  
  
"Where did you go?" Warrick asked. Melody sighed. She had been in the interrogation room many times, but she didn't like being on this end of the questioning.  
  
"Um, It was a usual girl's night out. Alcohol, naked men, -"  
  
"More Alcohol." Catherine said.  
  
"Pretty much. I don't drink a lot, so when I go out, I have fun, stop when I start feeling a little tipsy. But.By then I've usually had too much." Melody took a sip of her coffee before continuing. "A colleague drove me home, because there was no way I would have made it home otherwise. So she takes me home, and Jeff- that was his name- was waiting for me. He was really pissed. I hadn't let him know where I had gone. I don't know why it bothered him this time. I'm usually gone when he has his little porno parties, but. It was the only time he ever hit me. Although after that night, I didn't give him another chance. He wanted to know where I'd been, so I told him. Of course, it made him angry. His friends were amused. I've known most of them since college, so. They didn't see me as the type to drink and watch naked men dance around a stage."  
  
"I can't picture that, either," Warrick admitted.  
  
"Anyway. Oh, and this was like, two weeks before I moved here, by the way," she interjected, "Um, The guys said some stupid things, I said some stupid things. I don't exactly know everything. I BSed a lot at trial. Luckily, the judge believed me, and so." Melody sighed, "I'm a private person, so this is not easy to tell."  
  
"Take your time," Warrick said. Catherine gave him a look. He sighed, "Want me to leave?"  
  
"Would you?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm gonna go look at the car. See if I can get prints or something."  
  
"Okay, how much do you remember?" Catherine asked.  
  
"Enough to know I was raped. By who, I don't know. I woke up a couple of times, but." She looked pensive, "I was in too much pain to care, honestly. When I woke up they were all gone. Except for Jeff, who passed out on the couch. I was late for work, so I hear this knock at the door, and it's a friend of mine. She's a cop. I met her at the academy. We went shooting a few times a week. She said everyone was worried about me because I'm never late. I was the Washington version of Sara. So when I was late, they wigged. I was such a mess. She came in and I told her everything. I think that was the worst part. Having all my colleagues know everything. Anyway. I helped them dig up everything we could find on these guys. I'm not the type to l put them away for assault. I nailed them on everything I could. They all went to prison for something. There was physical evidence for the ones that raped me. The rest of them were accessories. Most of them were high and they all dealt drugs. One of them even had a parking ticket he hadn't paid yet. I'm petty like that," she laughed.  
  
"Wow. " Catherine looked at her pityingly, "They would have gotten along really well with my ex."  
  
"Yeah. Anyway. They all went to prison for something or another. I ruined a lot of lives. They all lost their jobs, except for one who didn't have a job to begin with. The ones who were married ended up divorced. Most of them had kids, which really scares me. One had custody of his little girl, and she was sent to an orphanage. Plus, they were all in trouble with their dealers. They owed money and couldn't pay it. And of course, we all know what happens to guys who go to jail for beating their wives and raping their kids. They blamed me for all of that. I started getting threatening letters and phone calls. Then my lawyer called me one day and told me there was some kind of loophole in the system. I didn't take the time to get details. I heard they were getting out and I left."  
  
"So that's what all these phone calls are about?" Catherine asked finally.  
  
"Yeah." Melody nodded. Catherine thought about their conversation in the bathroom earlier in the morning.  
  
"Mel, I'm sorry," Catherine leaned over and gave her a hug, wondering how she could ask the question she had in mind.  
  
Melody smiled, "It's okay. I'm just hoping I can find out whose it is. Part of me doesn't want to know, but I'd at least want to be able to tell him who the father is."  
  
"Want to be alone for a minute?" Catherine asked finally. Melody nodded silently. "I'm gonna go help Warrick. Come find us when you're ready." Catherine stood up and left quietly.  
  
"I hate this!" she said loudly.  
  
"Hate what?" Greg asked coming into the room.  
  
"Nothing. If Grissom or anyone asks, I went home sick."  
  
"Okay." Greg looked at her curiously, "How are you going to get home?"  
  
"Have you heard about that already?"  
  
"Yep. It looks like Starbucks is going to be raising prices again. As if their prices weren't high enough already. Now they are going to have to charge double to replace the window and those tables." He smiled, "Just remind me never to go anywhere with you. I'd rather ride with Nick. He might be the worst driver on shift, but at least he hasn't hit any buildings," Greg grinned playfully, "But there was that dog. It was a big dog, too. Great Dane."  
  
"Shut up!" Melody laughed before leaving. 


	10. Chapter 10A

A/N: Thanks Shannon, for ALL of your help! I couldn't have done it without you!! I love you!! Sorry if this chapter's a little confusing. It's going to switch from Mel's apartment to the Lab and such. And I apologize if this chapter is a little long. I may post it in 2 parts, one, because I love cliffhangers! (Aren't I evil?) :o) and two, it would be really long if I didn't!!!  
  
* * *  
  
Melody groaned as she rolled over in bed. She reluctantly opened her eyes and looked at the alarm clock. She was already over two hours late for shift. She briefly wondered why Grissom hadn't called yet before remembering she had changed her phone number and had repeatedly forgotten to give it to him. "Smart move, Harper," she muttered, uncomfortable. She had this strange feeling that was creeping her out. She sighed before realizing someone was watching her. She took a deep breath and started to roll over again. Suddenly she felt something cold and metallic pressed against her back.  
  
"Don't move." Melody inhaled sharply upon hearing the familiar voice, "You must have known you wouldn't get rid of me for long."  
  
"Go to hell!" Melody snapped.  
  
"You are aware that this is a gun, right?" he asked. She felt the barrel of the gun being pressed harder into her soft flesh.  
  
"No, I just though that you were turning into Captain Hook," she retorted.  
  
She heard a familiar snicker, "You wish."  
  
"No, that's a little too kinky for my taste."  
  
"You're not scared. I'm disappointed. I had a nice little visual. You lying there, crying, begging me to spare your life."  
  
"One, I'm not a dog. I don't beg. Two, we both know you aren't going to kill me. At least not yet," she added.  
  
"That's right. I have to torture you first."  
  
* *At the lab* *  
  
"I'm going over there," Grissom said.  
  
"Just wait. I'm sure there's a reasonable reason why she's late," Catherine said. Grissom gave her a blank look over her choice of words.  
  
"Here it is!" Sara suddenly exclaimed. She was sitting at the table, the contents of her purse scattered everywhere. She triumphantly held up a pink scrap of paper.  
  
"I knew she wasn't stupid enough to change her number without giving it to anyone first."  
  
"Gil," Catherine began.  
  
"I'll be in my office." Grissom took the paper and hurried to his office to make the call.  
  
* *At Melody's apartment* *  
  
"Jeff, stop it!" Melody shouted loudly. She looked up, her assailant just smiled at her futile attempts to free herself from his grasp. "You don't care if I yell and attract attention?" she bluffed.  
  
"No, go ahead. You can yell louder, if you like. I kind of enjoy it!" he grinned.  
  
"You know that the walls of an apartment complex like these are thin, don't you?"  
  
"Yeah, but. I know a little secret that your neighbor, Mrs. Johnson decided to share with me. She is in Baltimore visiting her sister," he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Although, if you want, I did bring the duct tape. Though I did have other things in mind for that."  
  
"I'm sure you do," Melody admitted truthfully. "But I-" Melody was cut off by the loud ringing of her phone.  
  
"Don't try anything," he warned. Jeff climbed off of Melody and reached for her phone, without taking his eyes off her. "Hello?"  
  
"Is Melody there?" Grissom asked, clearly agitated.  
  
"Yes, but she's really sick. She won't be able to come in to work tonight."  
  
"Can I talk to her?"  
  
"It's not convenient now. She's really sick."  
  
"I'll wait."  
  
"Just a sec," he covered the mouth piece with his hand and handed it to her. "If you say anything stupid, I'll kill you." Jeff handed her the phone. As soon as she grabbed it, he put the barrel of the gun to her temple.  
  
"Hey, Gil," she said quietly. Grissom sat there for a sec, she had never called him Gil before.  
  
"You okay?"  
  
"No, I'm not feeling well right now."  
  
"What's wrong? Who's with you?"  
  
"I don't know. It must be food poisoning. The mayo in the tuna I had last night must be bad," she muttered.  
  
"Then you would have been sick last night, not now," Grissom said slightly confused.  
  
"I know I'm missing some important paperwork, but I'll do it when I come in tomorrow," she said, emphasizing the 'I know'.  
  
"Is something wrong? Is he there? Did he find you?" Grissom asked, remembering their earlier conversation. He suddenly wished he had forced her to tell him everything.  
  
"Yes, I'll be fine tomorrow," Melody assured him.  
  
"Does he have a gun?" Grissom asked.  
  
"Yes, I will. Lots of fluids, got it," Melody noticed Jeff giving her curious looks, and she hoped he didn't figure out what she was doing.  
  
"Is there anyone with him?"  
  
"No, I don't have a fever."  
  
"Are you okay? Do you want me to come over with Brass or 'O Riley? Did he hurt you?"  
  
"Yes, I'll be in tomorrow. Yes, I'll get lots of sleep, and n-" Jeff grabbed the phone from her.  
  
"Sorry, she had to go to the bathroom. But we'll keep in mind what you said. Bye," he hung up the phone and slapped Melody across the face.  
  
"You told him!"  
  
"I didn't tell him anything!" Melody hissed, "But he's going to be suspicious now!"  
  
"Then I guess we won't have as much time together as I had hoped," he said menacingly. 


	11. Chapter 10B

Rating: PG-13 for cussing and stuff.  
  
A/N: Okay, here's the second part to Chapter 10. Thanks for the reviews! It inspires me to finish faster, Hint, Hint. We're almost finished! Only a couple more chapters! Please let me know what you think. Thanks to Shannon for proofreading this, although I think I missed some stuff, so. Sorry!!!  
  
* * * *  
  
"Did you get a hold of her?" Catherine asked as Grissom walked into the break room.  
  
"Yeah, we gotta get to her place. Sara, Cath, come on. Nick, you and Warrick split up. There's a DB at the Tangiers and one at Caesar's Palace."  
  
" 'Kay. Where are you three going?" Nick asked.  
  
"I'll explain later. Just behave and call me if you need anything," Grissom said. He left quickly, followed by Sara and Catherine.  
  
"What's going on?" Sara asked when they were seated in the Tahoe. Grissom shook his head.  
  
"Melody may be in a little trouble," Catherine filled Sara in on everything from tonight's events to the accident at Starbucks.  
  
"When were you going to tell me this?" Grissom asked.  
  
"Oh, I was going to tell you tonight, and then this came up and. I'm sorry. I should have mentioned it, but." Catherine said, though she left out the reason Melody had been leaving early that day.  
  
"Right, so you mean if we had - oh never mind. This isn't helping." Grissom handed Melody's file to Catherine, "How do you get there? I've never heard of Harbor Road," Grissom said.  
  
"It's way out there. We'll be lucky if we get there within the hour," Catherine said, noticing it was 2:30 am.  
  
"It's not past the Terrace Heights area, is it?" Grissom asked.  
  
"No," Sara and Catherine said simultaneously.  
  
"So it would still be in our jurisdiction?" Grissom said, "Assuming the worst."  
  
"Yep." Catherine confirmed.  
  
"Grissom, you don't think." Sara let her voice trail off. Grissom didn't respond. He adjusted his speed and kept driving.  
  
** Melody's house **  
  
"You know, you're cooperating very well," Jeff said sarcastically, "I'm very pleased."  
  
"I noticed," Melody said, attempting to sit up. Jeff put a hand on her chest and held her down. He climbed onto the bed and straddled her.  
  
"Don't touch me!" she snapped, pushing his hand away.  
  
Jeff laughed, "If that bothers you, we're gonna have some problems."  
  
"No, thanks, I've got enough of those." Melody rolled her eyes.  
  
"Your sarcasm is getting really annoying," Jeff pointed out as he began to unbutton his jeans.  
  
"So are you, but you don't see me stripping," Melody muttered. Jeff raised his hand to strike her. Melody braced herself for the blow, but it didn't come. She slowly opened her eyes as something metallic caught her eye. "What's that for?" She asked as she eyed the knife behind him.  
  
"That's for later," he smiled mischievously, "I found it in your kitchen."  
  
"Right. That's a good idea, 'cause if you had used your own knife, they'd be able to trace back to you," Melody stammered. "So are you going to shoot me now or what?" She finally asked. She didn't want to give him any ideas, but she knew what he had in store for her, and she didn't like the alternative. She knew he'd kill her anyway, and she'd rather he did it now than after.  
  
"No, see that wouldn't be any fun. You've seen it. A nine- millimeter at close range would kill you instantly. Where would the fun be in that?"  
  
"Gee, I don't know." Melody paused, "A nine. You found my gun!" she accused. Melody sighed inwardly, getting shot is bad enough, getting shot with your own gun really sucks.  
  
He shrugged apologetically, "If you didn't keep it in the same damn place." Jeff roughly slipped his hand under her nightgown.  
  
"Don't touch me!" Melody snapped again. She reached out and scratched him as hard as she could.  
  
"What the fuck?" he yelled, slapping her across the face.  
  
"If you really knew me, you'd know." Melody said, angry. She wondered how to get more evidence off of him, though she knew she didn't need to.  
  
"Okay, I didn't want to use these, but you've left me with no choice," he snapped as he pulled a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket.  
  
"What are those for?" she asked wearily, already knowing the answer.  
  
"Ever read Gerald's Game by Stephen King?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Jeff grinned, "Something like that."  
  
* * Grissom's car * *  
  
"Look, officer, I need to get to go. A colleague of mine's in trouble, and I-"  
  
"I've heard better excuses, give me your license and registration."  
  
"It's not my car," Grissom said. The officer cocked an eyebrow. "It's the state issued vehicle. I - we- work for the LVPD. We're criminalists headed for a potential crime scene. Which we hope to get there in time. Before a crime is committed." Grissom managed. Catherine and Sara just stared at him.  
  
"License and registration," he repeated, unfazed. Grissom sighed and handed him the registration before fumbling through his wallet for his driver's license.  
  
"Now just sit tight, and I'll be right back."  
  
"I can't believe this!" Grissom fumed, "Well, can, but."  
  
"I told you to slow down!" Catherine yelled.  
  
"Guys, this isn't helping. Just get your ticket and shut up!" Sara snapped from the backseat.  
  
"Fine!" Grissom repeated, knowing it would be a long night if he pissed Sara off. The cop returned and wrote out a speeding ticket. Grissom grabbed it, along with his license and drove off.  
  
* * Melody's house * *  
  
Melody whimpered quietly in pain. Jeff grinned softly from atop her, finally content in getting her back for everything. "Go to hell!" she yelled.  
  
"I lived with you for years, wasn't that close enough?" he asked  
  
"You could have left at any time! I wouldn't have minded!" Melody said, trying not to cry. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the pain he seemed so intent on inflicting.  
  
"Yeah, right," Jeff murmured. He saw a single tear roll down her cheek. She turned away quickly, hoping he didn't notice. "You know, I think that's the first time I've seen you cry." Jeff informed her. Melody looked at the clock and wondered if Grissom would be there in time. Jeff moaned loudly when he came, and Melody sighed with relief. She realized he hadn't worn a condom and was glad. There would be plenty of physical evidence to prove he was there. Obviously he wasn't one to learn from his mistakes.  
  
"And it's going to be the last!" she snapped as he climbed off of her.  
  
"Yeah, you're right. It is," Melody saw him grab the knife from where he had set it on the floor.  
  
***  
  
A/N: Oh, more suspense! Will Grissom and Catherine get there in time, or does Melody receive the same fate as Holly Gribbs??? Aren't I evil??? Oh well, I'll try to get the next chapter posted on Monday, but I have another commitment, so no promises. Please read and review. It'll make me write faster! 


	12. Chapter 11

Rating G or PG. This chapter's pretty tame.  
  
A/N: Almost finished! YAY! Please R&R!  
  
***  
Sara sighed as she followed closely behind Brass into Melody's apartment, both guns drawn. When he paused at the door she hissed, "Hurry up!"  
  
Grissom grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. He motioned for Catherine to follow Brass. When they were both inside he turned to Sara. "Don't make me regret this! I brought you because I thought you could handle this. Let me know now if you can't."  
  
Sara stared at him for a long moment before shaking her head, "No, I'm fine. Let's go," she turned and quickly entered the house.  
  
"Where's Brass?" Grissom asked. He walked in as Catherine emerged from the kitchen, holstering her gun.  
  
"He wanted to check the bedrooms, the rest of the place is clear."  
  
"Um, it's all clear. He's gone," Brass said slowly as he put his gun in its place, "I'm sorry," Brass finally said shaking his head, "I'm going to check with the neighbors, see what they know." Grissom and Catherine glanced at Sara, knowing how close the two had become. Sara took off towards the bedroom, her kit in hand. The two criminalists followed her quickly.  
  
"Wow. That's a sight you never get used to," Catherine managed, "It's like the Sharon Tate murder all over again," she muttered. Sara just stared at her, "You know, the actress, one of Charlie Manson's victims," Catherine clarified.  
  
"Yeah, I know who she was," Sara said, "We better get to work."  
  
"Only Sharon Tate was pregnant when she was murdered." Grissom pointed out. Catherine and Sara exchanged glances, "Why am I always out of the loop on these things?" Grissom asked. Sighing he said, "Sara, do perimeter. Cath-" Sara cut Grissom off.  
  
"No. No, it's okay. I wanna do it."  
  
"Sara, this isn't-"  
  
"No, Gris, I have to do this. For her. I wanna catch this bastard."  
  
Grissom looked at Catherine, who merely shrugged. "Okay," he relented, "Cath, perimeter. Especially doors and windows, since her apartment is on the first floor. I'll check the other rooms." Catherine nodded and left, Grissom turned back to Sara, "Are you sure you'll be okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I've got it. Don't worry," Sara assured him.  
  
"Alright, yell if you need anything."  
  
"I will," Sara promised. Grissom watched her for a minute before going about his own job.  
  
***  
"Where is everyone?" Greg asked as he walked into the break room to get a cup of coffee.  
  
"I dunno. They left Warrick and me here a few hours ago. Haven't heard from them since," Nick said.  
  
"Oh, how are your cases going?" Greg asked suspiciously. Neither of them had been in to pester him with requests for DNA matches or anything else.  
  
"Heart attack," Nick said. "They didn't need my services after all."  
  
"What about you?" Greg asked Warrick.  
  
"The kid choked on a hot dog, no foul play observed." Warrick sighed, "Try Grissom again." Greg started rooting through the fridge.  
  
"Okay." Nick pulled out his cell and speed dialed Grissom's number. "Damn! Why doesn't he answer?"  
  
"I don't know, but I want to go home," Warrick whined, "This is boring, I don't have any paperwork to finish, and my case was a dud." Greg pulled out a hunk of cheese and flung it a Warrick. "What was that for?"  
  
"Oh, I just thought you'd want some cheese with that whine!" he grinned playfully.  
  
"Thanks but no thanks. I don't like moldy cheese," Warrick threw the rotten cheese towards the garbage can, barely missing. Greg laughed and wandered over to pick it up.  
  
"Warrick, if you're really bored, you can work on my robbery. I'm just procrastinating now."  
  
"You're still haven't solved it?" Warrick asked incredulously. Nick glared at him.  
  
"Cool! You know how much penicillin you could make with this?" Greg asked rhetorically as he dropped it in the trashcan.  
  
"Not enough to cure all your problems," Warrick said.  
  
"Fine! Then I'll go back to my lab where I'm wanted and needed." Greg glared at Warrick before leaving the break room. Nick laughed at Greg's hurt look.  
  
"Aw, come on, man. You know we love ya," Nick said. He hated to see their usually perky lab rat disappointed.  
  
"Really?" Greg smiled and peeked into the room.  
  
"Does Sara know you swing that way?" Warrick teased.  
  
"Warrick, I'll kill you." Nick threatened playfully, "I'm a CSI, I can plan the perfect murder."  
  
"Not if I have anything to say about it."  
  
"Well if you were dead, you wouldn't be saying much," Nick pointed out.  
  
"Wait. Guys, get back to the part about Nick screwing Sara," Greg said.  
  
Nick's jaw dropped, "I'm not screwing Sara."  
  
"Then what do you call it?" Warrick asked.  
  
"I- uh, we- I- I take the fifth," Nick said.  
  
"Uh, huh. People only do that if they have something to hide." Warrick and Greg pointed out.  
  
"Right, well, I-uh," Nick was cut off by his cell phone ringing. "Stokes."  
  
"Nick," He recognized Catherine's hurried voice.  
  
"Where in the hell have you been?" he asked.  
  
"I'll explain later. Tell Greg to finish up what he's working on. We're on our way back and we have a ton of stuff for him. Meet us outside in ten. We have some bad news."  
  
"Okay. You know, Melody hasn't shown up yet." Nick realized aloud.  
  
"Just meet us outside," Catherine said before hanging up.  
  
"Greg, that was Catherine. Make sure you are finished with everything. They have a bunch of stuff for you to do."  
  
"Oh, great. I finally get caught up and they bring in a shit load of stuff."  
  
"What's going on?" Warrick asked.  
  
"I don't know, but we have to meet them outside. Catherine said she'd tell us then," Nick and Warrick hurried out of the break room. They stood outside for a few minutes, making small talk about sports when they saw the Tahoe enter the parking lot. They hurried over to where Grissom was parking. Nick opened up the passenger side door before the car was at a complete stop, "What's going on?"  
  
"Help us get this inside," Catherine pointed to the back of the SUV. Warrick opened the back and groaned.  
  
"Where did this come from?"  
  
"Just get it to Greg. I want us to get as much as possible done in the next hour. I don't want Ecklie to have any reason to take this case," Grissom said.  
  
"But it's still our shift, the only way Ecklie would be able to is if-" Warrick stopped as he realized what was going on. "Oh God."  
  
"What?" Nick said.  
  
"He's a little slow," Warrick informed them, "He still hasn't solved the robbery." Warrick grabbed the box from the back of the vehicle."  
  
"Nick!" Grissom said, "I thought you had that done!"  
  
"Not yet. I'll get on it as soon as you tell me what's going on."  
  
"Melody was killed tonight," Catherine said quietly.  
  
***  
  
TBC- Please let me know what you think!! Reviews make me happy! 


	13. Epilogue

A/N: Yay! We're all finished!!! Thanks for bearing with me! My next fic should (hopefully) be better, and updated more regularly. At least that's my goal. Although my goals aren't always realistic: i.e. Cause Greggy to fall madly in love with me and- Oh, wait. I was naming goals, not fantasies. Anyway, on with the story!  
  
***  
  
"Hey, Sara. What's up?" Nick stepped aside and allowed Sara to enter his house.  
  
"Nothing. I just didn't feel like being alone tonight." Sara set her purse down and flopped on the couch.  
  
"Well, I'm sure I can help with that," Nick grinned slyly. He went to the fridge, "Beer?"  
  
"No, thanks. I don't thing the judge would look too kindly on a hang over," Sara muttered.  
  
"No one gets a hang over from one beer," he said as he handed the bottle to her. She stared at him for a minute, and he remembered the last time they were out partying, "Maybe I should split one with you."  
  
"No, It's okay. I just. Nervous, I guess."  
  
"Sara, you can't lose. We've all made sure of that! Just go in there, and show them what evidence you have. You can't lose!" he repeated.  
  
"Nick, I haven't won yet. I mean, I'm 99.9 percent sure that I've got this won, but. It's that other .01 percent that bothers me. Something could go wrong. It's happened before. I just- She didn't deserve this!"  
  
"I know. Nobody does. But what are the odds of losing? We have his skin under her fingernails, his semen on her bed, his fingerprints all over the murder weapon, and on her gun." Nick hugged Sara, "There's no way you can lose!"  
  
"I know. But I'm still nervous. I just- I want to do this. For her. I want him to go to prison for what he did. And I want him there longer then a week!" Nick sighed. Sara really liked Melody as a colleague and a friend.  
  
"Sara, honey, this isn't about revenge. It's about justice."  
  
"Right, justice." Sara sighed, grabbed the beer from Nick and took a big gulp.  
  
** The next day **  
  
Nick sat quietly next to Sara, dressed in a black suit and tie. Sara nervously fiddled with the hem of her skirt. She looked up expectantly as the jury filed back into the courtroom.  
  
"Has the jury reached a verdict?" His honor asked.  
  
"Yes, sir," the foreman replied.  
  
"Oh, God," Sara muttered.  
  
"Relax, you did fine," Nick said.  
  
"Yeah, right. They made some very convincing arguments!" She hissed. Nick smiled, it was true. They had made some outstanding arguments, but Nick knew Sara had nailed it.  
  
"We, the jury, find Jeff Martin guilty for the rape and murder of Melody Harper," she replied.  
  
"Oh, thank god," Sara muttered, "It's over."  
  
"Good job, Sar. I knew you could do it!" Nick said embraced her tightly.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"You nailed it!" Warrick said coming up to Sara. "She would have been proud."  
  
"Yeah, well."  
  
"Let's all go out for breakfast to celebrate another successful trial. My treat." Grissom offered. The others nodded. Nick put his arm around Sara, and started to lead her out of the courtroom. Grissom and Catherine whispered something to each other, then Catherine reached up and hugged Grissom. Warrick watched the two of them leave the courtroom.  
  
"Well, come on, Greg," Warrick said, "What were you here for, anyway?"  
  
"What? I can't come to trial to offer my friends a little moral support?"  
  
"You still dig Sara, don't you?" Warrick wondered.  
  
"Oh yeah," He admitted as she turned the corner, "She's got a nice- "  
  
Warrick cut him off, "Let's go Greg." Greg sighed and followed Warrick to Grissom's car.  
  
***  
  
A/N: Sorry about the abrupt ending. I don't know how "in character" it was, but I tried. Please review and let me know what you thought! 


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